Nov. 3 election to decide millages, council seats

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, throughout the state of Michigan as voters make their decisions.
In Belleville, voters will fill two council seats and the mayor’s position. The two polls for the city are both at the Father Folta Building of St. Anthony Catholic Church, 409 W. Columbia.
In Van Buren Township, voters will consider 6.5 mills for Public Safety for seven years to replace the current 4.0 mill levy that will expire Dec. 31, 2016.
The 6.5 mills is expected to raise $6,478,215 when it is first levied on Dec. 1, 2017. The $6 million will go to the public safety department (the current 4 mills plus the new 2 mills), so the township will no longer have to pay that $2 million from the general fund for public safety. About $436,000 of the $6,478,215 will be captured by the VBT Downtown Development Authority.
Throughout the tri-community and in poll locations in Canton and Ypsilanti townships, voters will consider a 0.5 mill Van Buren Public Schools Sinking Fund levy for seven years to replace the current 1.13 mills that expires this year.
The 0.5 mill is expected to raise $753,255 from local taxes in the 2016 calendar year to be used “for construction or repair of school buildings and the improvement and development of sites and for any other purpose which may be authorized by law.
The Van Buren Township DDA may capture part of that tax, as well.
In 2014 the VBT DDA captured $351,872 real (18 mills) and personal (6 mills) of school operational funds and $291,009 of VBT public safety funds (4 mills).

29 Comments

I was undecided about how to vote in the election for Van Buren Township until I read today in the paper that at the budget meetings that 3 full time officials asked for a raise. I will not fund your pocket books and I will not be tricked into the untruth that this is an actual Public Safety millage. I hope the community takes a stand and votes no on this.

I agree with D. Black-Whitten, let’s not fund the pockets of the 3 full time elected officials at VBT. I applaud the 4 Trustees for recognizing the importance of watching the budget and especially at a time when they are requesting an increase in the public safety millage. (rename it: Visteon bond payment). We have a sleeping supervisor and a lazy treasurer that has not had a new idea or constructive comment for many years. They should both be voted out of office not rewarded with a raise they have not earned. Current pay of over $100,000. per year is ridiculous as they both have a full time assistant plus a staff. I am very proud of the 4 Trustees and they are the majority against the 3 so let’s hope they vote down the raise.

The Public Safety “Vote Yes” flyer that was inserted in today’s Belleville Independent is in violation of a basic Michigan campaign finance law “Paid for by the committee….” Someone didn’t do their homework. Supervisor Combs the buck stops here. Mr. White has announced this mistake on facebook.

I keep seeing people post on Facebook that this millage has nothing to do with the Visteon bond issue. Wake up people, it has everything to do with it and the township board is using Public Safety as the pull to get people to vote yes. Public Safety has no choice but to say vote yes. I support police and fire but I cannot and will not support a bunch of selfish elected officials who have been stagnant the last 3 years. I also commend the 4 trustees who put their foot down against the pay raise. At least someone has some sense.

To be fair, there were no votes at the special meeting. Only hours and hours of presentations about future plans for 2016 and budget amendments for 2015. Combs said the amended 2015 budget is over $52,000 with majority due to overtime and training in dispatch.
According to Combs, the 2016 proposed budget she presented is over $500,000 compared to 2015 due to raises. So where are the cuts and where are the savings in overtime due to policy changes?
Sharry Budd was not at the part of the meeting where raises were argued.

According to Combs, the 2016 proposed budget she presented is over $500,000 compared to 2015 due to raises and increases in insurance costs. So where are the cuts and where are the savings in overtime due to policy changes?

Even though no votes were cast, the item was tabled which means that their plans are not in the best interest of the township. Is anyone really surprised though? I enjoy your letters to the paper Diane and your dedication to doing the work for the good.
To the above poster regarding Visteon, it seems as though the funds are not going to Visteon but to the general fund. Am I mistaken?

Ms Moore, Yes, the money will be sent to the General Fund, but Combs has publicly stated “if the millage passes, this will allow us to create a “Segregated Bond Fund” to make the payments”. A gross misrepresentation of the additional millage usage. Transparency is an issue on this millage.

Ms Moore, votes are only cast at the Board of Trustees Meeting. Work Study, Budget Meetings, Closed Meetings ect are for information only, supposedly for everyone to understand the Agenda item on the BOT Meeting.

It is time that the Township starts thinking more like a corporation. Trim the fat, operate much leaner. They could save thousands upon thousands. The overall goal here is to keep resources aligned with workloads. Do we really need dual police and fire officers? Trim that fat… Of course, that’s not all… Do we need to have the Director traveling across the country on numerous seminars and conferences that could be available as webinars for free? Save thousands right there. Does the Fire Chief really need more than one vehicle? Hundreds, possibly thousands saved right there. Let’s trim the fat.
Until I see the board instituting some efficiency actions, I will VOTE NO!!

This letter was sent to our VBT Elected Officials. Thursday AM. No response from anyone yet!
Elected Officials
I just picked up today’s edition of the Independent. The “Vote Yes Nov. 3 2015 to support Public Safety” insert is a very nice and slick, well written paper. Congrats to you on the insert.
However, there is a huge mistake on the part of who ever put this insert together. Huge Mistake!! Huge Mistake.
I cannot find the proper disclosure (usually at the bottom of the distributed material) on who paid for the advertisement ! Huge mistake and error on editing the printed material to be presented to the public. I am not surprised at this huge mistake, since printed “Letters to the Editor” have contained financial errors and misrepresentation on the part of the VBT Board of Trustees. Please read the below information on MI Campaign Finance Law..
If you have any concern about this letter, please contact me for discussion..
MICHIGAN CAMPAIGN FINANCE ACT Act 388 of 1976
169.202 Definitions; A, B. Sec. 2.
(2) “Ballot question” means a question that is submitted or is intended to be submitted to a popular vote at an election whether or not it qualifies for the ballot. (3) “Ballot question committee” means a committee acting in support of, or in opposition to, the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot question but that does not receive contributions or make expenditures or contributions for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence the action of the voters for or against the nomination or election of a candidate.
169.247 Printed matter or radio or television paid advertisement having reference to election, candidate, or ballot question; name and address; size and placement of identification or disclaimer; rules; exemption; statement that payment made “with regulated funds”; communication exempted under section 6(2)(j); violation as misdemeanor; penalty; “mass mailing” defined; prerecorded telephone message.
(6) A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or imprisonment for not more than 93 days, or both.
Paul D. White

Saving Grace, do your homework. Only 11 of the contributors are VBT residents. 8 business, 6 Attorneys, 4 from Ohio, 1 from North Carolina. Most are doing business with VBT, or are friends solicited by VBT, SO, only 11 of the contributors plus the businesses in VBT will p;ay the tax. And, I put my name of the comments I submit for publication. How about YOU! ? The additional 2.5 mills is a gross misrepresentation of the true intent of the millage. Currently, a bill is being presented in the MI State Senate to penalize presenters of misrepresnting ballot questions. I think this is SB535.

Not sure why you are being hostile towards me? I made a comment regarding the clique from VBT who donated. It makes perfect sense becaue they all belong to a certain “club”. I don’t post my name because frankly, I don’t need to.

Saving Grace, Thank You for your comment. Not being hostile, just wanted to have a clear understanding of your first comment. I apologize for any misunderstanding on my part. Now, let’s go vote no on the misrepresented ballot question.

Someone did not do their homework. With all the combined years of experience on the Board (Budd, Jahr, Hart) they should have made sure the flyer was printed correctly. The most experienced with election rules is Budd but her lack of motivation has allowed this mistake and now their committee will have to pay a huge fine! I wonder who the cops will blame.

That’s the million dollar question. Who put the insert in the paper? Whoever did this will be paying a lot if money in fines… This is a major no-no in campaigning, so whoever made this idiotic decision should not be involved in politics any way shape or form. How can such a critical error be made for such an important issue?

From MY Face Book Page,o All Van Buren Residents,
The “Secure VBT Public Safety” ballot committee information required by the “Michigan Dept. of State Bureau of Elections ” and the Wayne County Clerk Elections Division has been posted online.
There were 36 contributors to the campaign. There were 11 VBT Resident contributors, 8 Businesses, 6 Attorneys, 4 Ohio contributors, and 1 from North Carolina, and a variety of other contributors. I am surprised only 11 of the contributors were VBT residents.
To access this information, here are the instructions:
Go to: https://www.wccampaignfinance.com/home/login
You do not login, only for the committees to post the info.
On the left column, clink on “view filed reports”
>Report Year is 2015
>Committee number is 82-156273
>Report period is Oct. 18, 2015 Pre General
>Committee Name is “Secure VBT Public Safety” a pop-up will pop up, just click on the name
>Report Name is Campaign Statement
>Filed Date Range. Enter May 1 to Oct 28
>Committee Type is “Ballot Question Committee”
>In the line that pops up, click on “Campaign Statement” to read the info, including “Contributors”, “Expenditures” and other information.
This is Public information. Be informed! Please share on your timeline for other residents to read. Valuable Info,

This is a part of the Supervisor responsibility to promote our twp. The Supervisor should be active in every committee’/commission possible outside our twp. And, attend the meetings. THE SUPERVISOR, not someone else. And, promote,promote, promote. SEMCOG, Aerotropolis, DWSD, Western Wayne Conference, MTA, Michigan Assoc. Twp Supervisors, be prepared to make presentations to the MI Econ. Development Commission MEDC, ect. We currently have lost this promotion of our VBT. 4 members of the current need to go!

The comments from Jack Sam are very interesting and very true. Not sure who is in charge of attracting business in VBT but someone is not doing their job…..a perfect example: The Farmer Jack has been vacant for several years! making that strip mall look very blighted. The request for an increase in millage for the public safety has been defeated, the absentee ballots sealed the deal…..Smart Seniors of Van Buren Township.

Jack Sam reminds us of our beautiful township with a lake, lots of land and a Metro Park. We also have a “diamond in the rough” which is Van Buren Park, acres of beautiful woods and a nice little beach area. Our current supervisor is on a leave of absence which isn’t going to make a bit of difference as she isn’t doing her job anyway. There is no one to promote businesses to come to our township. Vote NO reminds us of the vacant Farmer Jack: the 2 vacant Farmers Jacks in Canton Twp. have been occupied for years, the Busch’s hasn’t opened yet on Canton Center road but at least there’s a potential for a Busch’s and the one on Morton Taylor has been a Salvation Army for a few years now. Our VBT Downtown Development Authority needs to get busy and active with promotions especially with our location near two major expressways.